Some from my week away in the East Neuks of Scotland

stevegreen · 10-12-2006, 20:54

Just today arrived back from a week in Scotland with my wonderful wife to celebrate our first wedding anniversary.

We spent the week in a small area of the East Neuk close to the town of Anstruther. We actually stopped in a small place called Cellardyke. Anstruther has a 'famous' fish and chip shop, a few pubs, a few small shops, a nice harbour and some wonderful views.

We spent most of the time sleeping, eating and drinking but also managed to get out for a few walks and a small amount of time in the wonderful town of St. Andrews.

Photography wise I spent the majority of the time with my 24-105 f/4 attached to my camera with full manual control. I have to say that this is really my first serious foray into this amount of control and despite a few initial hiccups I will be staying on 'M' from now on. It's so much more fun!

Anyway, a selection of images for you to have a look at and critique would be most appreciated, especially on composition as this is an area I want to improve in.

All images are hosted on my Flickr and link back to the photo page where both other sizes and .exif information is available. All images on this thread are the medium size and look much better as the bigger 1024x683 images

The harbour in Cellardyke

Crail

The beach at Anstruther

The harbour at Pittenweem

Anstruther Harbour at night

Gravestone in St. Andrews Cathederal

St. Andrews Town and Golf Course from the tower.

If you look at the images taken in the Castle and Cathederal in the flickr set, they all look a bit flat to me. I wasn't particularly happy with any of them. Constructive comments appreciated.

Moody Skies over Cellardyke

In the pub!

There are a total of 52 images in my Flickr set from the holiday.

Thanks for looking.

fionaB · 10-12-2006, 21:14

some great images there steve...... I adore anstruther harbour at night its just a shame u lost the top of the mast!. great lighting in them and the clarity is cracking ! well done a set to be very proud of

Fi

stevegreen · 10-12-2006, 21:18

Thanks for the comment Fi, appreciated.

I took a number of longer exposures that night with the intention of getting that lovely silky feeling to the water. The main photo I wanted that night was ruined by the wind blowing the tripod about. Mind you, it was on sand as well!

fionaB · 10-12-2006, 21:27

ah lovely scottish weather we can always be relied on for that!

Fi

j sotelo · 10-12-2006, 22:31

those are graet pictures steve... and congrats on your anniversary

P-E · 10-12-2006, 22:46

Very nice set of shots & congrats on your 1st wedding anniversary

skipper954 · 11-12-2006, 18:25

You wanted a composition comment, so here goes.

In a lot of your landscapes, the horizon in at or near the midline. In general, try to put the horizon elsewhere, usually at a third. This is not a hard and fast rule, but compose or crop for that. This is particularly true in the second image, where the upper half is blank sky.

Other than that, you composition is pretty good. So hang out here a lot, shoot a lot, and learn a lot.

skip

***Dave*** · 11-12-2006, 20:27

Congratulations on your 1st wedding anniversary Steve

stevegreen · 12-12-2006, 10:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by skipper954

You wanted a composition comment, so here goes.

In a lot of your landscapes, the horizon in at or near the midline. In general, try to put the horizon elsewhere, usually at a third. This is not a hard and fast rule, but compose or crop for that. This is particularly true in the second image, where the upper half is blank sky.

Other than that, you composition is pretty good. So hang out here a lot, shoot a lot, and learn a lot.

skip

Cheers Skip.

I do agree about the rule of thirds being not entirely set in stone, but, you are right, I did get it wrong in the second image as that shot is actually quite lifeless on reflection.

Thanks for the comments

Rob Barron · 12-12-2006, 16:41

Enjoyable set there Steve and congrats from me too on your wedding anniversary.

Same opinion on the compositional aspect, most show a good eye but the second shot is weak in comparison to the others. As well as the horizon being on the middle line, it is also slightly slanted so watch for that. It doesn't show too much because it goes half across and not all the way but I have checked it in Photoshop and it is 1.2 degrees out.

That aside, this is a good set and I trust you and your wife had a wonderful time.

Cheers,
Rob

fionaB · 12-12-2006, 17:26

awww whats 1.2 degrees between friends........ rhetorical question no answer required! lolol

Fi

stevegreen · 12-12-2006, 17:33

Thanks for the comment Rob, we did have a fantastic time and the scenery there is amazing........just a bit windy!

Level horizons is always something that I struggle with a little, especially when using my Sigma 10-20 wide angle lens. I always try and level the horizon using the little squares in the viewfinder and then try and maintain the level when recomposing the shot..........it doesn't always work!

Any tips for this would be gratefully received.

12-12-2006, 18:00	#13 (permalink)
Rob Barron Loves the place